It Could've Been
by When the Sun Rises
Summary: Two years after the latest shinobi war, Tenten struggles to ignore her grief over losing more than just her teammate. She doesn't realize what else she had lost until an awkward conversation allows her to confront her pain.
Hey, everyone! Here's a one-shot I've written after many years of frustration. Why did Neji and Tenten's relationship not progress to a romantic one, but the (doomed to fail) relationship of Sasuke and Sakura's did? It had always bothered me through the years, almost as much as Neji's sudden death did, so I thought I'd finally let my frustration out with a story I managed to complete and edit on a night I'm supposed to sleep early for an early work shift tomorrow. Eh, what are you going to do? You can read the story for starters. I poured my heart out into it.

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Tenten twirled a kunai with her right hand before flinging it to a target nailed to a tree fifty yards ahead of her. She made her mark, as expected, but the exercise was meant to clear her mind, so she held no prospects. Her training ground of choice was a small clearing hidden in the forest northwest of the village. Nothing but the gentle beams of sunlight passing through the leaves of the trees surrounding her could witness her activity, so the twenty-year-old was able to enjoy her solitude in peace. At least, she was trying to.

Tenten sighed. Her fingers were in the fold of her kunai pouch to obtain another kunai, but her arm fell limp, and they swayed limply at her side. She suddenly didn't feel like shooting kunai today. It was a shame considering that the skies were clear, the breeze was cool, and there was no one around to bother her; but perhaps it was that last note that discouraged her from continuing. There was no one to bother her. Particularly, a training partner.

Tenten shook her head and collected her weapons. One poof of a scroll and her target board was stored for safe keeping. As she started making her way back toward the village, she contemplated on where she would go to next. She ended her session earlier than she had planned, so there was excess time she had no idea what to do with. Maybe she would go to a food stand and grab something to eat. She didn't feel like eating breakfast that morning. Maybe it was time to finally nourish her body.

Once Tenten entered the village, she looked left and right to search for an establishment that would catch her attention. She should've been used to making this decision by now considering she had been doing it for years but for some reason, she had the urge to look beside her and ask for an opinion. Right before she shook her head again, her decision was made when she saw a head of pink hair under the roof of a noodle shop. She was surprised the person she quickly recognized wasn't eating at Naruto's favorite ramen stand but who was she to judge? She was never the social type of person that mingled with her fellow shinobi. She was feeling rather lonely today, however. Maybe now might be the day that changes.

With that in mind, Tenten took a seat beside her potential companion and shot her a smile. "Hey, Sakura."

Sakura turned to her and grinned. "Hey, Tenten." The tips of her short hair brushed the straps of her flowy red dress.

Tenten blinked. She never saw the pink-haired kunoichi dress so attractively before. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered, "is Sasuke coming to meet you?"

Sakura's grin immediately faded, and she sighed. "No," she said, "what makes you say that?"

"Well," Tenten tilted her head, "you look nice today." Now she felt embarrassed. Then again, was her question really off the dot? She had heard that Sasuke and Sakura were dating now. Were the rumors wrong?

"Thanks," Sakura acknowledged.

Her save, to Tenten's relief, got her a small smile from her acquaintance. Sakura didn't look offended by what she had said. Just sad. That made Tenten nervous now. "I hope I haven't offended you," she told her. "I heard that you were dating Sasuke and all and...I knew you were crazy about him so...I thought that's why you were dressed so prettily 'cause I thought...you'd meet him." Great, Tenten silently groaned to herself. Now she was implying that Sakura only groomed herself to impress men.

Fortunately for her, Sakura still didn't look offended. Unfortunately, however, she became sad again. Her green eyes grew watery as she stared at the bowl of udon placed in front of her. "Sasuke is away to...find himself, I guess," she said.

"What?" Tenten blinked. "He left again?"

"But he said he'd be back this time," Sakura interjected, "he just didn't say...when…"

Tenten frowned. She, as well as many others, had learned the truth about the true history of the Uchiha Clan. She didn't exactly know what happened to Team 7 when Sasuke had left the village, but she was aware that they didn't have the easiest time about it. She might dare say they faced the most tribulation out of all the squads. But, Tenten added, at least, they reunited in the end. One of them might have left again, yes, but at least, there was hope that they would rejoin again. Not everybody was able to have that same fortune.

"Tenten?"

Tenten gasped. Sakura was looking at her, her green eyes scrutinizing her expression. "Wh-What?"

"You look sad all of the sudden," Sakura commented. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Tenten stammered. She straightened her posture and turned directly to the tall menus in front of her. She took one and skimmed through its contents. Did they serve pork udon at this stand?

To her unexpected relief, Sakura had said nothing to what was probably her very blatant lie. She used their resulting silence to tell the chef what she wanted. Once the chef had turned to make her meal, however, Sakura spoke out.

"I'm sorry about Neji."

Tenten froze. Her arm trembled a bit when she was returning her menu to its original location, but she forced it back to her side to avoid embarrassing herself more than she already was. "Why?"

"Well," Sakura slightly turned her head, "he didn't make it in the war. I'm really sorry we couldn't save him. You two were really close."

Tenten gulped and shook her head. "N-No," she said, "we're...I-I mean we _were_ teammates. It's normal for us to be around each other a lot."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something but wisely closed it. She turned to her bowl to think of another response. She concluded with, "I guess."

"Yeah."

Another stretch of silence passed between them, but this time, it was awkward for both sides. They quickly found refuge in their thoughts and remained there as one ate her food and the other waited for hers. When their thoughts became too painful, however, they speculated another topic to discuss. It was difficult for them to do so due to their lack of intimacy; but Sakura was more social than Tenten, so she was able to find a topic first.

"I miss Sasuke," she started, "but...the old him. Does that make sense?"

Tenten turned to her, confusion in her eyes. "No…"

"I mean, I'm glad that Sasuke is back in the village, left to redeem himself, and promised to return to me with the prospect of having something more than a professional relationship, but…"

Tenten blinked. She didn't expect Sakura to ramble.

"It's like he's an entirely different person from the one I fell in love with," Sakura continued. "I mean, of course, he's changed. I've also changed—everybody has changed—especially after so many years and the war we just went through but," Sakura took a deep breath, "I can't help but wonder what would happen if Sasuke never left the village, maybe never cursed by Orochimaru. Sure he was traumatized back then too, but at least, he was more willing to make himself a part of our lives as well as us a part of his...I don't know."

Tenten's expression sombered as Sakura sighed into her bowl. Her own meal had arrived in front of her, steaming and ready to be eaten, but she didn't pay attention to it. Her mind was focused on the thoughts creating a storm in her head, a storm she didn't want to face. Regardless, she opened her mouth and said, "I get what you mean."

Sakura turned to her.

"I mean, I may not understand exactly what you're going through, but I know what it's like to wonder if things turned out differently," Tenten's jaws hardened, "and if certain...outcomes would've taken place instead of the crap that you have to go through now."

Sakura frowned. "Tenten…"

Tenten grabbed her chopsticks and proceeded to stuff her mouth with noodles. Something was gathering at her throat, and she refused to let whatever was bound to happen happen. Sakura seemed to have understood and returned to her own meal. The silence that proceeded didn't feel so awkward this time. It was almost more comfortable.

Tenten was the one to restart their conversation. "It's okay to leave him, you know."

Sakura, who was about to take her last mouthful of noodles, dropped her chopsticks and looked at her with wide eyes. "Wh-What?"

"You don't have to be with him," Tenten turned to look her in the eyes. "I know it's what you always wanted, but you wanted to be with who he used to be, not who he became. You should be with someone that makes you happy. It's hard to love someone that's broken."

"But," Sakura gasped, "but I love him."

"You always have, right?" Tenten remarked. "But was it enough to keep you together? Make the both of you happy?"

Sakura turned back to her bowl. Tears welled up at the edges of her eyes, but she bit her lip to keep them back.

"You can love again, Sakura," Tenten continued, "this time, someone you consider your best friend. A relationship should feel like a team, like you're with someone who's got your back no matter what happens and not leave you when things get rough. Whenever there's a problem, a decision that needs to be made, you check with each other, so you're working on a solution together. You don't just abandon the other person to solve the problem on your own. If you can't work with your partner, then you're not ready for a relationship."

Sakura slowly turned back to her. "Are you saying Sasuke doesn't deserve a second chance?" she asked. "After what he's been through, he should, at least, get one."

"He does deserve a second chance, Sakura," Tenten told her, "but so do you. The both of you have been unhappy all these years, haven't you? No one said you could only be happy with each other, especially since you're finally together, and you're still not happy."

Sakura gasped. "What makes you think I'm not happy?"

Tenten gave her a knowing look, and Sakura didn't ask again. Tenten wasn't the only one to point out her dissatisfaction. Her parents had mentioned it; Ino had mentioned it—even Naruto had mentioned it. They only wanted what was best for her. Did Sasuke want the same thing? Was he even capable to?

"Wow," Sakura chuckled though her voice was dry and bitter. She didn't think she was ready to leave Sasuke, if she was ever going to, but she couldn't deny that Tenten's statements made her think. "You're...you're right, Tenten. I never knew you were so smart."

Tenten gave her a sly smile and bowed shyly. "I had a wise companion," she said. "Guess his realistic viewpoints had gotten to me."

She didn't realize what she was saying until Sakura asked, "Was it Neji?" That was when the catch in her throat returned.

"Y-Yeah," Tenten forced herself to admit, "he was a really smart guy. I didn't get to spend that much time with him when he became a jonin, but when we did, we made sure to make every moment memorable. Sometimes we trained, but most of the time we were too tired from our missions and just hung out."

Sakura gave her a sad smile. "He was your best friend."

Tenten was about to nod until the realization of what she was implying reached her head. Not only did that catch in her throat get worse, but there was also a sinking feeling forming at the pit of her stomach.

"I-I...h-he...I mean," Tenten shook her head. "I-It wasn't like that. It never was."

"But it could've been," Sakura noted. Then she froze, remembered what Tenten had said to her earlier, and repeated more quietly, "but it could've been."

Sakura gasped when Tenten suddenly slapped money on the table. Before she could verbalize a response, Tenten had marched out of sight.


End file.
